


everyone around me lives (but i can't live without you.)

by soft2min



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:21:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22459435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soft2min/pseuds/soft2min
Summary: “Do you need help?” the voice is so kind, tinged with tiredness but void of anger.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Han Jisung | Han, Bang Chan/Han Jisung | Han/Seo Changbin, Bang Chan/Seo Changbin, Han Jisung | Han/Seo Changbin
Comments: 12
Kudos: 175





	1. Chapter 1

Jisung feels absolutely pathetic when he starts sobbing, cries mirroring the one of the child in his arms. Everything just feels so  _ useless _ and  _ painful _ . He’d been trying to calm the woes for the past three hours. It’s edging the line of 4am and he has to be up in another three hours to drop his daughter off at the daycare and then catch his shift until late evening. 

“Baby, baby, please,” he begs, lips quivering as he gnaws at his lips in hopes that maybe his distress will calm the baby down, but it only seems to make it worse as Hayoon screams. Jisung wants to scream, too, but the moment is interrupted by three hard knocks on the front door. He gently lays the baby down, not bothering to wipe the tears away as he swings the door open, mouth already open to spill apologies.

“Do you need help?” the voice is so kind, tinged with tiredness but void of anger. Jisung stands there for a moment, before he just sobs out a tiny, “yes, please,” and lets the man inside. It takes a moment of wiping his tears to realize the godsend of a man was his neighbor, Chan, and he can only beat himself up as Chan enters his and Hayoon’s shared room. He takes the small baby into his arms, cooing softly and rocking the baby until she’s soothed from crying and now just babbling and making grabby hands for Jisung. Jisung sniffles softly, wiping his tears with his sleeves and taking Hayoon when Chan passes her over.

“Hey, sweetie,” Jisung whispers, puffing out his cheeks and letting the toddler squish them to her heart’s content, “you’ve been a little diva today, haven’t ya? Giving papa and Mr. Chan a hard time, huh? Oh, stop smiling like that, angel, it makes me feel like I can’t be mad…”

Chan chuckles quietly at the exchange, staying in the living room as Jisung enters the room to tuck Hayoon in. It was only then that Jisung felt the flood of emotions squeeze at his heart again and he exited the room before his crying could potentially wake his daughter. Chan pulls him into a warm hug, stroking his back and murmuring soft, “you did great” “everything will be okay” and “you’ve worked so hard, you’re doing an amazing job raising her,” and maybe that was really all Jisung needed to hear. 

They end up sitting next to each other on the couch, mugs of tea in their hands.

“I’m sorry again for Hayoon,” Jisung says quietly, sipping at the scalding beverage tiredly.

“It’s no problem, Sungie. If you ever need help, know that Changbin and I are just a door away, okay? And even though Seungmin might not hear you the first few times, you can rely on him for help,” Chan replies, letting out a long yawn. 

“Oh shoot, you should probably be heading home, right? I didn’t mean to keep you,” Jisung says, close to tears again. He hated how sensitive he was at the moment, but there was so little keeping him together at this point. 

“You’re  _ okay _ , Sungie,” Chan reassures, “Changbin isn’t even home right now, anyway, so I’d be waiting without company.”

Jisung smiles sheepishly, gently dabbing the tears away, “‘m sorry for being so emotional. I guess tonight isn’t my night and I need to wake up early or stay up a few hours so I can get to work on time.”

“Shouldn’t you be the one sleeping then?” Chan asks, forehead creasing in worry as he finishes his tea, taking Jisung’s empty cup and leaving momentarily to put them in the sink. By the time he returned, Jisung’s head was resting on the couch, eyes barely open. He chuckles quietly, helping the sleepy man onto his feet and helping him to bed. 

“Sleep well, Sungie,” Chan says quietly, shutting the lights off and leaving the apartment.

  
  


🌻

  
  


“FUCK!”

Jisung didn’t know how he slept through his alarms (he did, but he doesn’t even want to think about it) but all he knows is that it’s currently 9am and he is SO late to his shift. Thankfully, Hayoon isn’t too fussy and takes her bath and mashed avocado like a champ and they’re out the door by 9:30.

“Morning, Changbin hyung, Chan hyung,” he greets quickly, locking his door. 

“Do you need a ride?” Chan asks, placing a comforting hand on Jisung’s shoulder before he could potentially trip on his own feet, “we’re about to head off on a date, but we have time.”

Jisung gnaws at his lip, glancing at Changbin. The man just gave him a small smile, waving at Hayoon and making the girl giggle.

“C-could you guys maybe drop Hayoon off at the daycare? I need to get to work. Like. Now, or else I’m pretty sure I’m going to get fired,” Jisung says. Chan nodded, and Changbin took Hayoon only after Jisung was able to smother the girl in kisses. “I’ll get you guys something to thank you later… but… I really appreciate it,” Jisung says, smiling brightly as he waved the three goodbye and sped off. 

Work is a total shit show the moment he arrives. He gets a light scolding from his boss, but luckily he wasn’t fired on the spot. He deals with picky customers to entitled soccer moms all day, the only incident happening when a drink was “accidentally” tipped onto him after he’d been grilled for a solid five minutes about how he had gotten the drink wrong. (He’d been manning the cash register all day, so he didn’t understand why HE was the one that got shit on for a mistake on a drink.)

By the time his shift is done nine hours later, he is completely drained. There’s a dark stain on the front of his shirt and he just wanted to go home at this point. 

The walk to the daycare feels longer as he drags his feet, and when he gets there, he’s met with the disapproving stares of other parents and just wants to sink into himself. He shouldn’t be embarrassed, but the hot shame is enough to make his head spin when he hears the mutters of scathing mothers. 

“Sungie!”

He freezes, head raising to see Changbin standing with Hayoon in one arm. 

“Come on! Channie is waiting a street down with the car,” Changbin says, walking up to him and taking one of his hands. Jisung relaxes a tenfold, smiling at Changbin with a strained smile. He wasn’t sure how he would thank them, but eventually, he was going to be able to. 

Changbin drags him along, speaking quietly about what he and Chan had done that day. His voice is soothing, and Jisung finds the stresses that he had before melting away at the happiness of his friends. As Changbin said, Chan was just a street down, and when they got into the car, the eldest announced that Jisung and Hayoon would be having dinner with them and there was really no getting out of it.

  
  


(“This is kidnapping,” Jisung said, smile puffing out his cheeks and plainly adorable.

“Sue us.”)

  
  
  


“I really needed this,” Jisung admits, carefully wiping at Hayoon’s mouth, “thank you, guys. So much. I have no idea where I’d be if you guys weren’t my neighbors.” 

“Buried in noise complaints, I assume,” Changbin chuckles, “you’re a great neighbor, Sungie. I still remember when you first moved in and you tried so hard to make a good impression that you ended up stumbling and tripping over yourself. It was so adorable, and that’s probably when we decided that you are very much someone who needs protecting and kindness.”

Jisung flushes a bit, distracting himself with playing with Hayoon.

“Thank you, then… I meant it when I appreciate you both so much. Sometimes I just need some help staying on my feet, and you two help ground me when I feel like I’m falling apart,” Jisung says quietly, cooing when Hayoon slumps against his stomach and shuts her eyes, “I know I can always rely on you both, and I kind of miss being able to spend time with friends.”

“Well, maybe you can drop Hayoon off with the Lee’s some time and you can come out with the whole group for a fun night,” Chan suggests, “we all get together at another friend’s house and we have a little game and movie night. Sometimes we drink, sometimes we won’t, it’s just a little get together.”

“That sounds like fun,” Jisung says, “but I don’t want to intrude or anything. It was just a thought.”

“Well, you know who to call if you don’t want to be alone,” Changbin says, smile as kind as ever, and it made Jisung hope. 

  
  


. . .

  
  


Jisung ends up joining them two weeks later. Hayoon is in the safe care of the Lee’s just a building away. Turns out, that friend lived in a nicer apartment with a large living room that was decorated with fluffy blankets and a table filled with snacks.

He learns that Seungmin is also a part of the little group, along with meeting a few new faces that consist of Hyunjin, Minho, Jeongin, Felix, and Chan. They watch a movie before Jisung learns that the group is a culmination of clingy and clumsy drunks. Chan and Seungmin are still sober, but Jisung couldn’t speak for anyone else. 

“L-let’s play spin the bottle!” Felix squeals, swinging a half-full bottle in the air, and his hand was just barely caught before he can slam the thing sideways and make a mess. Jisung quietly gets into the circle between Chan and Minho. He’s still nursing his first beer, sipping occasionally, but doesn’t trust himself to take too much. 

Jisung watches with hidden amusement as Jeongin shyly pecks Seungmin’s cheek, as Felix flings himself at Hyunjin and drunkenly pepper the equally drunk man’s face with kisses, and then Minho placing a delicate kiss onto Changbin’s cheek. He took the bottle, giving it a quick spin and feeling his stomach clench when it pointed straight at Chan. Jisung swallowed, nibbling on his bottom lip as he glanced at the older. He had a lighthearted smile on his face, turning his face right as Jisung got the courage to lean up and-

they kiss. 

Jisung pulls away quickly, eyes wide and sputtering. He can hear Minho and Hyunjin cackling in the background, but Jisung felt his heart stutter in an attempt to calm down. 

“S-sorry,” he squeaks out, voice breathless and, god, he’s sweating so much. Everyone seems to notice his panicking once the laughter stops, and Minho gently pats Jisung’s shoulder.

“Hey, you okay?” he asks, words slightly slurring into each other, but Jisung can tell he means it, “it’s just a game, Sung. You can sit out if you want?” 

“Actually…” Jisung mumbles, slowly getting himself to his feet, “I think I need to… uh… head in for the night. I’m not really feeling too good, so I’ll just catch an uber.”

“We can driv-”

“No, it’s okay,” Jisung said, lips in a tight smile as he interrupted Chan, “thanks for tonight, it was really fun.”

  
Jisung gets home that night, and he couldn’t help immediately crying. He wasn’t sure why, it was just a  _ kiss _ after all, and it meant absolutely nothing. So why was his heart hurting so much? It made no sense, and he could feel himself become dizzy. The delirium and alcohol mixed together, and soon enough, he was out before he could even reach his bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Jisung is NOT avoiding his neighbors. He still says hi to Seungmin every once in a while. On the other hand, he just leaves home earlier than Changbin and Chan (Hayoon  _ hates _ getting up even earlier than she used to.) It isn’t like he lingers at the gas station longer than he usually does, but it isn’t like he’s… making… the conscious effort to not run into them. 

“Baby, stop being so fussy,” Jisung sighs, rocking the baby slowly as he scanned the assorted baby food, “what are you in the mood for? Strawberries?” a soft babble and a wide grin. Jisung puts a few into the basket. He knows the little reactions mean close to nothing, but he follows them nonetheless as he plops another ten into the basket which would be enough to last her until he got paid again. For a moment he dawdled in the tea section, noting that morning he’d had only one packet left and figured he could probably treat himself.

He goes up to the counter, bouncing the baby all the while as the cashier rings up all of his items. Jisung poked her cheek before reaching into his pocket for his wallet. When he inserts it into the reader, he felt his heart stop when he heard the decline noise sound.

_ Insufficient funds. _

Jisung opened his wallet to see nothing, faintly remembering plopping most of his earnings into his savings box right before leaving to pick his daughter up. it began to make a bit more sense when he remembered that it was the beginning of a new month, meaning the landlord had probably swiped his rent payment early.

He felt his throat constrict and he quickly took the card back, anxiously rolling on the heel of his shoes. The cashier looked at him with a concerned expression, about to open her mouth, but stopped when a bottle was placed down on the counter.

“Can you add this to it, too?”

Jisung couldn’t even register what was happening, just that Changbin was suddenly there and swiping his card for the whole purchase once the bottle was scanned. Changbin grabbed the bag of Jisung’s stuff and beckoned him to follow. Jisung willed his legs to work, loosening his hold on Hayoon.

“Thank you,” Jisung mumbles quietly, guiltily looking towards his feet and not at the older. 

“Don’t mention it,” Changbin says, “do you maybe want to come over for a little? Channie and I haven’t seen you in a while,” Changbin says, voice hopeful. Jisung swallows, subconsciously stroking Hayoon’s hair.

“Sure. Can I tuck Hayoon in and put everything away, first?” he asks.

“‘Course. No rush, really, I just got back from the gym so I gotta shower,” Changbin says, handing Jisung the bag once they returned to their apartments and bidding him a ‘see you later’ before disappearing into his own home. Jisung let out a deep sigh, entering his own apartment and making quick work of putting all the jars away. 

“Should I go over?” Jisung asks, making Hayoon babble incoherently. Jisung pouts, poking her cheek and smooching her forehead. He tucks her into the crib, watching her until she drifts off after around a half hour of humming.

He wasn’t mentally ready, but he was in front of their door a few minutes later. He dawdles, playing with the hem of his hoodie and occasionally raising his fist to knock every now and then, but losing the courage before he could even land a single knock. 

“Do you want me to let you in?”

Jisung squeaked, whipping around to see Chan casually standing there, dressed in his usual work suit and a laptop under his arm.

It. was. hot.

Jisung flushed, glad that his face was hidden by the dark.

Then, the door opens, Changbin standing there with an amused expression. 

“He’s been standing there for the past twenty minutes, I didn’t know when it’d be right to open,” Changbin says, pulling Jisung in from where he was frozen. “Go change, Channie, you look like you got hit by a bus.” Chan shoves Changbin on the way in, eliciting a snicker from the shorter man as he shuts and locks the door. 

“Go sit down, Sungie. We’re just about to have dinner, so you can join us if you want,” Changbin says, entering the kitchen and bringing out a few things to set on the coffee table. Jisung sank into their couch, stomach rumbling as he watched Changbin return with a platter, sitting on it three bowls of bibimbap that looked to die for. “We decided to splurge a bit on ingredients,” Changbin murmurs, noticing Jisung’s gaze on the food, “go ahead and dig in, Channie will be out in a minute.”

Like clockwork, Chan comes waddling into the living room in comfy looking sweats and a plain white tee. He settled on the other side of Changbin, offering Jisung a small smile and grabbing his own bowl.

“So are you two going to talk about it, or are we just going to sit in silence?” Changbin asks, cheek stuffed with rice. 

“Don’t speak with your mouth full,” “You’re acting like Hayoon.”

There’s a moment of silence, before Jisung giggles and Chan laughs.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Jisung says shyly, shoving a spoonful of egg into his mouth straight after. Changbin audibly huffs, shaking his head. 

“We haven’t seen you since the party, and if we did, it was always just you saying hi and running away,” Changbin says, “it sucks because we don’t know why you’re avoiding us, but we also don’t want to push your boundaries because you really did look \uncomfortable that night, and we didn’t want to freak you out.”

“Did… did I do something wrong?” Chan asks. Jisung’s head snaps up and he stares with confusion as the oldest seems to pick at his food. “I honestly didn’t mean to, we can just forget about the whole party and I promise I won’t like-”

“No, no, hyung,” Jisung starts, letting out a slow sigh. Chan was staring at him with a guilty expression, and Jisung didn’t even know what was going through the man’s head to make him have such a  _ sad _ expression. The thought of  _ I am going to fuck this up _ was thrown out the window. He needed to come clean, or he wasn’t sure if they’d ever go back to how they were before. “It’s neither of your faults. I just… I’m not good in… the romance department? And I got really nervous because I know you two are together, and me kissing you was weird. For you more than me, and I didn’t want either of you to be angry at me, and I just… I figured that it would be better if I created distance so that I wouldn’t get closer than what I’m allowed to. Because that’s unfair to the both of you, and I don’t want to intrude or include myself where I’m not welcomed.”

It feels like a big weight falling from his shoulders as he speaks and rambles, the thoughts he’d been beating himself up with coming out in a jumble of confusing tangents, but he couldn’t help it. He just wants to brush this all under the rug so that he could finally move on and get his friends back.

“But what if you are welcomed?” Changbin asks. Jisung sat there, jaw dropping. He can see the way that the couple exchange looks, Changbin’s more reassuring while Chan’s was painted with anxiety.

“What if, during the time you were away, we realized that you’d already made a place for yourself in our schedules?” Chan continues, hand finding Changbin’s, “and that we wanted you to keep being in our lives because we started to develop feelings for you?”

Jisung’s heart was beating way too fast, and he placed his bowl back onto the coffee table.

“I’d-” his voice cracked as he sniffles, “I’d be really happy? And probably start crying if you two aren’t playing some kind of horrible joke?”

The two immediately pull Jisung between them, food abandoned and their focus solely on Jisung as the youngest tears up.

“Oh, don’t cry, baby,” Chan coos, stroking Jisung’s hair, “what’s the matter?”

“Y-you won’t make me get rid of Hayoon, right?” Jisung asks, eyes wide and more tears spilling over his cheeks, “b-because it will always be her, I like you both so much, but it will always,  _ always _ be her.”

“We wouldn’t dream of making you choose,” Changbin says, “we love Hayoon just as much as we love you, and that definitely won’t change anytime soon.”

Jisung felt at ease with that, just listening to the two murmur sweet reassurances to him until his eyes dried and he was just basking in the warmth of them. 

“You’re both really warm,” Jisung says suddenly, resting his cheek against Changbin’s shoulder and holding one of Chan’s larger hands between his own. 

“You are, too,” Chan says, gently squeezing Jisung’s hand, “why don’t we finish up dinner and then we can cuddle at your place? We don’t want to leave little Hayoon for too long.” Jisung smiled brightly, quick to (try) and finish up the rest of the cooled rice. When they heard a distinct wail from beyond the wall, Changbin let out a soft sigh, standing up dramatically and snatching Jisung’s keys from the table. 

“I guess it’s my shift,” Changbin says, face solemn for a split second, before it spread into a grin.

“He’s already embraced his role as a father,” Chan says, voice already tinged with an endeared exasperation that made Jisung’s heart warm a tenfold.


End file.
